Fabrics in general are used for a wide variety of applications from wipers and diapers to automobile covers. These applications call for materials having diverse properties and attributes. Some applications call for fabrics which are highly wettable, e.g. liners for diapers and feminine hygiene products, and which are soft, or are absorbent like wipers and towels, while others require strength, e.g. protective fabrics like car and boat covers, and still others require repellency and barrier properties like medically oriented fabrics for, for example, sterilization wraps and surgical gowns.
The invention disclosed herein is a protective cover for vehicles and equipment. Protective covers for various objects like cars, boats and equipment have been sold for a number of years. These covers are made from a variety of materials like canvas, nonwoven fabric laminates, polyesters, and films. They are suitable for some applications but each has at least one characteristic which, if removed, would result in a superior cover. Canvas, for example, is very heavy and cumbersome to handle, and even more so when wet. Most films are flimsy and do not hold up well to high wind conditions, to abrasion or to punctures and denting. The desired characteristics for a protective cover are light weight for ease of use, good bursting and tensile strengths, high impact resistance and resistance to water penetration. Its also desired that a protective cover avoid abrasion of the item being covered.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a protective cover for equipment and vehicles which is quite lightweight, waterproof and will withstand high wind conditions. It is another objective of this invention to provide a protective cover which also provides impact resistance.